Right-lateralized fronto-parietal network and phasic alertness in healthy aging

Haupt, Marleen; Ruiz-Rizzo, Adriana L.; Sorg, Christian; Finke, Kathrin · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61844-z

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Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying phasic alertness in healthy aging, specifically examining whether intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) in the cingulo-opercular network (CON) or the right fronto-parietal network (rFPN) predicts the ability to utilize warning cues to enhance visual processing speed. While previous research established that iFC in the CON supports phasic alerting in younger adults, it remained unclear if older adults rely on the same network or shift reliance to the rFPN, which has been hypothesized to support cognitive reserve and attentional maintenance in late life. The researchers analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 31 healthy older participants (mean age 71.1 years). Behavioral performance was assessed using a Theory of Visual Attention (TVA)-based whole report paradigm, where visual processing speed was measured with and without auditory warning cues. The phasic alerting effect was quantified as the difference in processing speed between cue and no-cue conditions. Using independent component analysis and dual regression, the authors examined iFC within the CON, rFPN, auditory, and visual networks, as well as inter-network connectivity. These results were compared against a previously published sample of 32 healthy younger adults to determine age-specific differences in brain-behavior relationships. The results demonstrated that in older adults, higher phasic alerting effects were significantly associated with lower iFC in the rFPN, with the strongest association peaking in the right superior temporal gyrus. No significant relationship was found between alerting effects and iFC in the CON for older participants. Significant negative associations were also observed in auditory and visual networks, but inter-network connectivity patterns did not correlate with behavioral performance. Crucially, the comparison between age groups revealed that the association between phasic alerting and CON iFC is significantly lower in older adults than in younger adults. An exploratory analysis suggested a trend toward a stronger association between alerting effects and rFPN iFC in older compared to younger participants, though this did not reach strict statistical significance after cluster correction. These findings indicate a shift in the neural substrates of phasic alertness during healthy aging. While younger adults rely on the CON, older adults appear to depend on the integrity of the rFPN to maintain alerting capabilities. The study supports the hypothesis that the rFPN plays a specific and critical role in preserving attentional functions and cognitive reserve in old age, potentially through noradrenaline-mediated mechanisms. This suggests that individual differences in the ability to mobilize additional processing capacity in response to warning signals are linked to rFPN connectivity, highlighting its importance for active perception mechanisms in aging populations.

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• cognitive aging